You know how parenting is mostly telling people stuff you would have thought was just common sense, and then repeating yourself until you think you sound crazy, right? There’s the early parenthood version of this phenomenon, where you focus mostly on safety issues: “No, we don’t put (toy/bodily appendage/instrument of destruction) (in your mouth/up your […]
I had the weirdest experience recently. I finished a meeting and had to be across town for another meeting right on the heels of my first meeting, only the first meeting finished early, so I got to my second meeting early. I’m rarely early. Actually, I’d give it about a 50% chance I’ll even be […]
“I’m a weed detector,” Jack said as a distinctive acrid aroma filled the foyer. From the living room we heard the front door open and then close not one second later, followed by a chorus of giggles. Apparently our Weed Detector had been successful in locating the enjoyer of said aromatic herb, standing in her […]
Colin passed us both in the kitchen this morning, on his way out the back door. He had wet hair, no shoes and was carrying a clear, plastic cup with something in it. We watched him grab a shovel out of the shed and start working at something in a corner of the yard, his […]
Yesterday I had an appointment with Steven, whose calendar fills months in advance. If I ever have to reschedule, it’ll be a while before I can get back in. I don’t have a lot of secrets, but if I did, Steven would know them. He’s got sophisticated ways of making people talk even when they […]
When I’m cooking dinner – any meal, really – I hate having people in the kitchen with me. So, of course, that’s exactly where 60% of my family was last night as I was trying to concentrate on the complex set of instructions that came with my new gadget. “I wonder how long before they […]
This weekend we welcomed our latest Rotary exchange student into our family. Eighteen year-old Marine is from Belgium, and I can’t pronounce her name right (that darn French r), but she says I’m in the ballpark. We’ve shown Marine the basement bedroom we’ve tried to make as comfy as possible, and introduced her to the […]
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a baby shower before.” This was Mike’s confession to me as we were walking up to the door to our friends’ home, Saturday afternoon. Had I realized this earlier, I would have though of some way to punk him. Maybe made up some fake baby shower etiquette to […]
I love scary stories. Love, love, love them. Until they get the better of me. The only time I ever got in trouble for reading anything I wasn’t supposed to was in the fifth grade. It was a loaned copy of The Amityville Horror I kept hidden under my pillow until I could finish it. The […]
Whenever somebody says something in Spanish and any member of my immediate family is with me in earshot, I’m usually quizzed about what was said. I’ve been engaged in a very casual study of the language for years, and folks around here have way more confidence in my ability than they should. I think it […]
